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Theairplaneguy4ever

Hello everyone

Here's my 2nd trip report on airliners India, this time on Emirates. This one took a long time to write out and I'd need some serious motivation to write the next one. I'd like to start off with presenting my video trip report on my flight.

Here's the link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7946THU4CY

(question, can you embed a player, here?)

Now, I'd personally suggest watching the video first and then reading the TR, but it's up to you more or less. And off we go :

EK533
Kochi-Dubai
0420-0705
A330-200

Dubai. A city I had heard a lot about. Mostly from gossiping relatives who have no clue about half of what they say. Most travelers head to Dubai to experience the mix of modern and old. Well, me for one had enough of modern and was slightly looking forward to the cultural part. Unfortunately, I had to learn the hard way that Dubai had left most of its culture in the past. Where back in the 70's, oil was found which lead to the exponential growth of the city and to what it is now. The growth has slowed down after the global financial crisis, but it is still considered as the biggest city in this region. Dubai airport too has grown too and boasts the largest terminal in the world, exclusive to Emirates.

Now, Emirates. This I had heard of even more. Reading all the trip reports of the great flights everyone has had, and the videos of their fantastic business class or first class seats. The food, the crew, the IFE, everything top notch in many minds. Then, I wondered, why Emirates had a four star rating instead of five on skytrax. Surely something was wrong? Such a great airline, who even have beds on their A380's first class... why was it not the best?

I was still pumped about this flight. After all the awesome experiences of others on Emirates, I was sure I wasn't going to be disappointed. Oh boy, was I wrong.

Let me start here with the tale of the emigrant worker. He works hard to support his family by sending cash every month back home. He visits his family every few years and lives in hope to return back in the time between. For him and many others, this flight to Dubai is a harsh and sad reminder of his job which keeps him apart from his family yet is the only way to support it. I salute these hard working men overseas who face tough problems all for their family.

Now back to the flight. I've decided to focus more on Kochi airport as.. well, there are not many ( none) trip reports on it. Kochi airport is around 30kms from the city center. With the introduction of A/C buses to the airport, the journey has become hassle free. But not at 1AM when the buses don't run. Here your only option is to get a grumbling and mumbling sleepy taxi driver. The taxi is though the best option if you have heavy baggage which would be horrible to lug around on a bus.

The journey takes around half an hour at this time. No traffic. Kochi airport is surrounded by many paddy fields. It really is a nice surrounding for an airport. The airport comes into view on the final 6 km stretch, it's deserted at this time as the gulf rush has not started yet. Our car slowly pulled a right and made our way to the new drop off/pick up area. Most probably you'll know Kochi airport is themed after traditional 'Nalekettus', endemic to Kerala. We take a left again and enter a canopied structure. The new drop off area is 'all weather protected', a fancy name for having a roof over it. From here there are two separate pathways leading to the departures or arrivals.

I was in a good mood. Sleepy, but good. As I approached the departures, I saw a HUGE crowd, I am not exaggerating here, I think half the city was there. Many relatives tagging along. But, I also noticed the looong line, almost reaching the domestic area. This line was for the initial check by the CISF staff before letting people in. Isn't it long overdue to remove this one. I mean, what's the point really?

The emigrant worker, here, is filled with grief. For he is leaving his loved ones for the next few years. He passes through the door takes one last look at his family and moves on to catch his flight.

I had to wait around 15-20 mins till I could get my passport/ticket/visa checked by the security staff. Once in, the next thing you have to do is have another CISF officer check your ticket before heading to the check in counters. This line is shorter but long at the same time. The CISF personnel handle the situation very well and are extremely polite to people. The departures hall at Kochi is small. There are a couple of textile shops, a jewellery shop and some other random stuff. A few awkard plants stand around the hall too.

Past the CISF check (2) are the check in counters. Almost all of them are opened due to the gulf rush. six counters are dedicated to Emirates. With one internet check in counter and a business class counter differing from the economy class ones. I noticed that many QR, EK and EY crew were standing outside the check in counters to help passengers. The MEB3 are really trying to outshine each other here. Most won't take this into account. But, well, there are quite a few connecting passengers who can choose any of the three to their destinations.

Check in was fairly quick, I got my selected seat which was 29K, on the right side. This would provide me with a nice view of the terminal after takeoff, as all west bound flights take off from runway 27. After check in, the only thing to do is to go through emigration and security to reach the airside. With a total of 7 flights departing at this time, 8 emigration counters were open. Emigration officers, at Kochi, take a long time to stamp everything. They aren't rude though, friendly even. But, I still I ended up waiting for almost 3/4th of an hour. After that it's a security check. Due to lots of counters being opened security was quick. I saw lots of foreign business men around here, along with tourists as well. Same when I came back. I've read a lot of complaints about the CISF personnel at these check points being rude to people and such. I have to disagree and say that they are really friendly and helpful.

One instance, back in march when I was flying AI509, here at domestic security, I had a bit of trouble closing my bag while standing in the L shaped line towards the back. The lead individual who was directing people through the initial X-ray scanner stopped the line, came up to me and helped me out! Thank you, sir!

Once you're past security, back at the International terminal, you head upstairs to the Airside departures hall. The whole terminal is pretty big but looks a bit drab. At this moment I just caught the numbers 5:15 next to EK532 on a screen. Yes indeed, a delay of 45mins. Well, I wasn't that annoyed. In fact I was slightly happy, because the sun would be completely up by then which meant better filming conditions.

There are a couple of shops airside, but not really ones to have a second glance at. Another complaint about Kochi airport is that there is not one restaurant airside, or landside for that matter. If you haven't eaten anything like yours truly, you're gonna have a bad time. Kochi airport has 4 gates (+1 for turboprops for a total of 5) and 5 jetways. Gate 1 is used almost always by emirates because the bay on the left is a 'heavy' one. Apparently all the gates at Kochi are heavy gates, but I don't think so.

Now here is one thing which makes Kochi the best airport in India for me. Between gate 1 and 2 on the right side, there is a glass room hiding in plain sight. It's an open air garden with many plants and a mini waterfall ( inspired by changi ) and....... FREE WIFI! Do they have such things in BLR/HYD/AMD? Hah! Take that! Make sure to carry an umbrella, because if it rains, you'll probably get soaked. I heard a huge roar and spotted the Kuwait airways A300 as it slowed down on the runway. The A300 is a daily sight here at Kochi.

The A330-200 for my flight ( A6-EAD ) arrived at 4AM 40 mins behind schedule. It was my first time on Emirates and my first time on A330-200 along with my first time to Dubai. Emirates operates two daily flights to Dubai. The other one departs 3 hours later at around 8:30. I really wanted to be on that flight because it was a 777. The 777 is my fav aircraft ya know! The morning flight even gets a 77W on some occasions. I've also heard of a 3rd flight during the DSF period, does anybody know if it's true?

Soon, time passed quickly and it was time to board. Row wise boarding was called and people orderly approached the door and took a right to board from the jetway at the extreme right.

Upon entering the aircraft I was greeted by two flight attendants. No smiles. The A330s have older (and smaller) IFE systems, which I noticed. The plane was fairly clean, but seemed to show its age. A few crew members stood throughout the cabin. All they did was chat with each other and did not even bother to help the emigrant worker who struggled to put his carryon luggage in the overhead bins. He then asks assistance from a passing passenger who helps him out.

I settled into my seat and noticed the legroom seemed pretty tight. I heard Emirates tries to stuff in more seats? Apart from that, the IFE was turned on and the selection was pretty scarce. A hot towel run and lime-drink run were conducted. Also without smiles. The safety demo followed by the Emirates ad was done too. The captain came on and gave a lot of flight info and apologized for the delay. All they say is that it was due to the late arrival of the aircraft. A friend told me that it was usually due to fog at DXB. Does anybody know?

A hot towel service followed by the distribution of a lime drink was done

A feature I congratulate Emirates for is the exterior camera views on their IFE. Aviation enthusiasts could watch it 24x7 if they could. Useless at night though, you can't see anything .

Pushback commenced and the vibration of the Trent 700's filled the cabin. We pushed back facing the east so as to takeoff from runway 27 westbound. After a short 5 minute taxi we were at the runway and the engines slowly came up to 40% N1, the familiar howl of the Rolls Royce engine family filled the cabin and we commenced our takeoff roll. Takeoff was earlier than I imagined and I got a nice view of the tarmac with the KU A300 on it.

I listened to some music and glanced at the menu, which had been distributed earlier. The menu was printed in Malayalam along with English and Hindi. There also was an Malayali music and video channel. A commend EK on this, considering EK operates 5x (or 6x) daily to Kerala.

The breakfast service was soon conducted, which was either upma or a Masala Omelet. I dare not choose the upma. Airline meals don't even come close to the quality of authentic 'grandma' made food at home, judging by the passengers' choice, I'm sure they agreed with me. Upma or uppumavu is offered as the second choice because many request the vegetarian meal on this route.

The omelet was served with rajma cutlets and chunky tomato sauce. Fruits and muffin were the accompaniments . Bun with butter and jam were also there. I had OJ as my drink choice.

The omelet was nice and soft, the inner masala sort of balanced the creaminess of the omelet. The rajma cutlet wasn't that good, soft though, but I think they local bakeries sell better ones for 5 bucks. I skipped the bun, don't know why, wasn't in the mood. Fruits consisted of green apple, pineapple and watermelon. The muffin, chocolate flavoured, was nice and soft and of course sweet too. The meal portions seem a bit small, I think I've seen bigger meals on other emirates' flights, not to mention SQ ones'. A hot beverage run was done and I had a coffee to prevent myself from keeling over.

I used the remaining time on this flight to switch between channels, the IFE selection as pointed out earlier is scarce. Just 22 channels. But, that's what you're stuck with if you're flying an A330 on Emirates. The other option is too sleep. But, the tight legroom meant no space to stretch out.

The emigrant worker here is thirsty and very reluctantly asks for a glass of water. All he gets in reply is a rude NO. The crew. The biggest disappointment of this flight. No smiles and sometimes not polite either. There was this one female crew who thought she might be better off elsewhere. All she did was show exasperated expressions to passengers who asked for help and gossip with her colleague throughout the flight. The crew serving our section seemed to be a fair middle eastern man who didn't quite understand anything asked to him and seemed very clueless, he was still better than the earlier mentioned crew member.

As we approached Dubai, the sun slowly came up and the captain came up announcing our descent into Dubai. Here a quick drink run was conducted and I got another OJ. The deserts of the Emirates came into view as we lined up for ILS runway 30L approach.

Touchdown was, as is always on the A330, smooth. We taxied left of the runway and parked next to a Whale jet. Once the plane came to a stop everybody slowly got up and got their baggage and headed out. I decided to try out a flight deck request. I passed through the biz class which looked old and a bit worn. I asked the female purser who I had only sighted one time during the entire flight. She was very nice and politely told me that I would have to wait 10 mins. 10 mins? An hour seemed like a better challenge. The flight crew were very busy and I just got time to take a few pictures once I got in, though.

I deboarded through the door L1 instead of L2 and walked towards immigration. Dubai airport is big, but....not even close to HKG or SIN in my opinion. They have these impressive large elevators at immigration and a waterfall behind it. Waterfalls'. Who isn't impressed by them?

Now here is the real nightmare. Dubai Immigration. An hour? No, no that's short. Nearly two hours that's how long. The emigrant worker goes through as well without any problem, for him he is just returning to work. But, it's more than that, isn't it?

My baggage was already going round and round on the carousel by now and I quickly got out of the airport to explore the city. The emigrant worker, however, is heading to the same place he has gone to for years. The city seems like hell to him, a place which seems to get snazzier at his expense. Goodbye!

So here's my conclusion. I am quite disappointed in Emirates after this experience. The crew were bad and even rude to many. The meal wasn't filling. The seat was cramped. The IFE selection was poor. So hey, I just got the rotten apple out of the basked right? No big deal other flights are better. Partially correct. My return flight was better.

But, these experiences are quite common on, especially and I'm stressing especially here, on routes catering to labour traffic or for people like the emigrant worker here. According to some, it's because they don't look for quality and are just people going back to work. Why do these people deserve less than say an Emirates flight to Western Europe whose passengers may even pay less than what passengers on the Indian sub-continent bound flights may pay? How are they different? I agree that from an airlines' perspective it seems right. But, they don't deserve to be treated any different. This is just me voicing my opinion and nothing more please.

If you're here then I thank you for taking the time read this report. I would very much like to hear your opinion on this matter as well.

The last question is would I fly Emirates again? Yes, you can't judge an airline just based on one flight and after the awesome return flight I'm pleased to say that Emirates is on my top airline list.

Thanks for reading & watching

Feedback and comments are much appreciated
_________________
India's first HD Video Trip Report Channel : www.youtube.com/Theairplaneguy4ever

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Dear @Theairplaneguy4ever, I wonder if it would be possible to give your name - some of us do this, since your username is a bit too long, and addressing you with such a long username is a bit cumbersome and tedious.
Thank you for another enthralling trip report, in two media again!
Once again, a lovely video presentation, with some very slick editing. Not to nitpick, but there is a typo in `Immigration' repeatedly at the beginning (`Emigration'), and the `m' is missing in the references to the word, at the end, plus a few more, but that does not take the gleam away from a superb report, in any way. Sure, I went by your suggestion of going through the video in detail first, then the trip report. And I admit, I did the above, four times!
Your shot selection, compositing and editing is superb - if I may ask, is this related to your profession in any way, and was this a business trip?
I like the captions, and the shots, giving a sense of movement - whether it was the escalator going up at Kochi, the low loads caption with the man and his legs on the bag in front, or your plane coming in - it was beautiful. Further, thanks for a comprehensive description of the Nedumbassery airport at Kochi - it looks very nice, clean and well-organised (except for your helpful tip about food options, air-side). The description of Dubai too was fabulous! I also liked the way you zoom onto to each food item a wee bit, and then go to the other.
Your trip report was also superb. I liked the part where you present it from the point of view of an emigrant worker, injecting these into a very vivid description of the surroundings, and goings-on. I also liked your concluding words...thanks once again for taking the time to share this with us!
Cheers, Sumantra.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

That flight looked quite acceptable for a regional run. You got a range of IFE which was decent if not the best that EK have to offer, a half decent meal, and a relatively modern aircraft.

What more do you expect?

This isn't an AI 747 operating on a BOM-LON-JFK route, circa 1971.

ameya · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 10:43 am Post subject:

Nice TR !

COK is I believe the only place in India, which has higher international traffic than domestic !

Nimish · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:31 pm Post subject:

Lovely TR - thanks for posting! I can't wait to read the return sector as you say you had a much better experience on that sector.

Sad to read about the "uninterested" attitude from the FAs. While it might not be the most glamorous sector, it's routes like these that probably help EK build critical mass at their hub in DXB. Definitely no reason to encourage a "bad attitude" from the crew.

I've noticed this myself years ago from some of the TG crew ex-BLR, they were not interested to start with. However I found that a polite request/ conversation with them helped them switch on their "smooth as silk" behavior and suddenly they were much better.

In this respect, I've found SQ to the be consistently the best - never any "attitude" shown irrespective of the prestige of the sector.

Hopefully EK will improve with time.
_________________
We miss you Nalini!

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:33 pm Post subject:

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:42 pm Post subject:

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:50 pm Post subject:

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Dear Adi, thanks. I appreciate the time you spend on both the video reports, as well as the traditional text versions. Please keep it up on both counts, we really enjoy them here! `Immigration' is the traditional term used for the passport checks for outgoing passengers - the trip may not be for purposes of emigration. At least, that is what I know, more knowledgeable members may please correct me here.
Cheers, Sumantra.

jbalonso777 · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:03 pm Post subject:

I didn't get to read the entire TR due to time constrains although, I did get a few points which I'd like to highlight.

-Awesome insight into COK Airport! Its very interesting indeed!
-The worker, yes. 3 maids from my house here in CMB ran away without notice to DOH, AUH and KWI. I don't know why I borthered to remember these anyways! Razz

-The workers face a rough rough time in the middle east. The Saudia consulate just 200m away saw a string of protests. Reason? A 16 yr old girl old was...beheaded. I shall stop there.
-EK has 4 departures out of CMB, and its full most of the time. Other than afternoon EK348 to SIN, that is empty! Altough I'm sure Tim Clark has a lot of money to keep that flight running!
-Surprising that the crew weren't smiling! Not the EK that I have travelled on!
-Yes, IFE and cramped seating are a few reasons EK has 4 stars.
-Yet to fly on SQ for a fair comparision!
-Food is amazing on any route! You can find an insight to EK's second longest flight to Africa here: http://airlinersindia.s4.bizhat.com/viewtopic.php?t=12500

Waiting for more TRs from you, sir!

Regards
Jish
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http://www.youtube.com/c/JishnuBasu777

abhijith16 · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:46 pm Post subject:

Wow, Nice TR!

EK has Malayalam menus! No wonder, they are truly the national carrier of India!

EK's cabin crew are slightly better than IX's cabin crew (not so much of late) and JetFright's cabin crew.. Try QR/EY next time.. It may be quite cramped, but the FAs are smiling and helpful!
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shivendrashukla · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 8:27 pm Post subject:

Hi,
Great TR plus the video too. Sad you had a forgetful experience on EK, but I hope that is the exception rather than norm.

--Shivendra

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 8:58 pm Post subject:

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 9:08 pm Post subject:

TKMCE · Member Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Posts: 957

rajeev.jaya · Member Joined: 27 Aug 2012 Posts: 193 Location: Chennai

ameya · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:19 pm Post subject:

ameya · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 12:20 pm Post subject:

The percentage increase shows the no. of passengers carried on international departures over domestic departures

TRZ is amazing ! What was I smoking on all these years that I missed it.

abhijith16 · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 4:00 pm Post subject:

ameya · Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 4:06 pm Post subject:

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Spiderguy252

Stunning shots, some of them. And thanks for the TR.

The_Goat

Theairplaneguy4ever

Theairplaneguy4ever

Spiderguy252

Theairplaneguy4ever

Spiderguy252

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Very nice TR- great pics video description everything!
Too bad about the crew, glad the return flight was better. There's no excuse for no smiles and rude behaviour.

The 330s are relatively old, with the older IFE but it's still ahead of most of the competition. The newer aircraft cabins are in a different league and as they take more deliveries and get the Indian bilaterals changed they will send the newer ones to India. I never thought legroom/food was an issue and as for IFE ... I guess if someone says there were only 22 video channels + more audio in multiple languages the airline must have set expectations really high Laughing

Not exactly related to this TR or anyone in particular ..... but coming to the part about assisting passengers lift their cabin baggage in the overhead bins- they generally do it for elderly people. Im not sure what the situation was on your flight but as a passenger I can put my own bag up and if people expect it to be done for them they should think again Rolling Eyes

.... sure cabin crew are there to help you and they should help people who have difficulty lifting etc .... heck they should go above and beyond for everyone but it shouldn't be an expectation if you know what I mean? It's not like they should help lift 100 bags a fight.....

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2013 4:14 pm Post subject:

Theairplaneguy4ever

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 6:37 pm Post subject:

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

TKMCE · Member Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Posts: 957

I think most of the communication is still over HF. That is notoriously un reliable. Datalink, FANS, ADS-C, ADS-B are all coming but even with all this I understand over Shanwick for the North Atlantic routes it is still HF as primary communication.

ameya · Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 10:59 am Post subject:

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Thanks for posting the text and video version, as we don't get to see many reports from Cochin. I like the fact that you record on full HD and the videos look stunning on my large flat screen TV.

It is a pity that crew treats passengers differently based on their status, but I guess some times it is the passengers to blame as well for the bad behaviour which is difficult to erase from memory.

Sri_bom

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:16 pm Post subject: